Detroit Horse Power

Detroit Horse Power’s vision is to give at-risk youth a safe and enriching space that furthers their future development. Horses teach children critical traits, including perseverance, empathy, responsible risk-taking, confidence, and self-control. Detroit Horse Power’s future urban equestrian facility will be built on repurposed vacant land in the city, contributing to community revitalization. The barn will manage horse boarding and equestrian event businesses, filling a market need for metro-Detroit equestrians and increasing our financial sustainability.

Detroit Horse Power uniquely addresses two persistent problems facing the Motor City: the shortage of opportunities for metro Detroit’s vulnerable populations (especially children) and the abundance of vacant land. Through riding and caring for horses in a safe and enriching space, program participants learn valuable skills that set them up for future success. Our facility, built on repurposed vacant land, will contribute to the city’s renewal and be a center for community events and equestrian services.

Over the past four summers, Detroit Horse Power has taught hundreds of students the joys of working with horses. These amazing animals instill powerful life lessons - perseverance, empathy, responsible risk-taking, confidence, and self-control (PERCS) - that our students carry with them everywhere that they go. 

In 2018, we reached more students than ever. We are tremendously proud of our growth from 18 students in 2015 to over 100 students, many of whom are continuing to participate year-round in our PERCS after-school program.

This advanced cohort is getting introduced to all that the horse community has to offer - from rodeo to natural horsemanship to polo and more - while making connections between the social-emotional skills we develop in the horse setting and their everyday lives. 

By serving these students through the school year, we solidify and continue building the character skills that students first learn during our summer horse camp. In our second year of programming, the results are clear: the higher dosage of exposure afforded to students we work with year-round makes a monumental impact on both retaining and utilizing the social-emotional skills we learn from horses. 

Interested in volunteering? We meet twice a week with our year-round students to focus on social-emotional skill growth based on personal reflection. Additionally, we have numerous opportunities for participation in our bi-monthly barn trips. Crunched for time but still looking to get involved? Reach out!